


You and I, Together Again

by Megane



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Backstory, Dreams and Nightmares, Dreamsharing, First Meetings, IgNoct Secret Santa 2017, Memories, Reincarnation, Reunions, Secret Santa, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29989455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: Noctis wakes up one more and realises that his eye colour has changed. Oh. It's official.He actually has a soulmate.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Kudos: 1
Collections: Ignoct Secret Santa 2017





	You and I, Together Again

**Author's Note:**

> Da-da-da-daaaa! Da-da da-da- _daaaaa!_ This is my Secret Santa gift for yippykyeyay on tumblr! I got a little busy with real life this holiday season, so I was a little late for the event. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Feels good to write these guys again.

Now that Noctis was looking in a mirror, everything he had been through that morning suddenly made sense. Waking up at 8:30, poking himself between the eyes _eight times_ since walking up, the strange flashes of two formally dressed figures reaching out for each other… These and other seemingly random events made up his two hour morning. Seemingly random events until this moment, of course. He had hard evidence in front of him. His reflection sported light green eyes. He tilted his head more to the left and ghosted his fingers over the three faint beauty marks on his cheek. Whoever his soulmate was had some pretty features. Noctis flicked his gaze up to meet his own eyes in the mirror.

He curled his fingers near the corner of his lips. It took a moment for him to actually look away, but when he did, his mind was racing. His soulmate had to be close by. But for how long? Did they live nearby? Noctis closed his eyes and sighed through his nose, an expression of frustration settling on his features. Insomnia was a big place, and he didn’t even know where to start looking, honestly. “Dammit,” he mumbled, lowering his arms down at his sides.

And on top of all that, he still had to meet up with people today. Maybe he’d just wear sunglasses all day. Hopefully, no one would take notice of them. Noctis exited the bathroom, knocking his knuckles on the door jamb. Here’s hoping he didn’t just jinx himself. He continued about his routine as normal, briefly pushing the idea of a soulmate out of his mind. Good thing the mirror was fogged up by the time he exited out of the shower. He’d feel a bit silly staring at himself like that again. As he walked out of the bathroom, he could hear a jaunty tune coming from near his bed. He paused and waited until the end of the ringtone. There was a chocobo chirp and then ringtone started over again. Prompto.

Noctis reached for his phone and smoothed his wet hair away from his ear. “Sup?”

_“Sup!”_ Prompto shouted back. _“You ready to hang out today?”_

“Just got out of the shower.”

_“Whaaat?”_ came the responding tease. _“And here I thought I was gonna have to come wake you up. That’s cool.”_

There was chatter in the background from two different voices. Prompto was quiet for a moment before laughing in response.

_“Right?”_ he said to them. To Noctis, he said, _“We’re heading to the arcade, and then I heard there’s a new restaurant that opened on Broughton. We should go check it out. They’re having a food challenge.”_

Noctis hummed and began padding around his bedroom. “Count me in.”

_“Nice! Just let us know when you’re ready, okay?”_

“Will do.”

Prompto laughed gently, obviously excited for the day ahead. _“Alright. Later, buddy!”_

The call ended. Noctis drew his phone away, wiped it on his towel, and then tossed it back onto the bed. He stood in one place for a moment before unwrapping the towel from around his waist. He brought it over his head and began furiously drying his hair. Guess he had better hurry up and get dressed then.

He needed to find those sunglasses. He should have a pair lying around somewhere…

Noctis was glad that Prompto had so much energy; it helped divert attention away from him. Not that Noctis was in dire straits and needed an out or anything. It was just that Prompto’s lively energy helped maintain a flow. Noctis appreciated him overall, but today, he was particularly thankful for Prompto’s extroverted mannerisms.

While Prompto and Gladio were sharing quips back at the arcade, Noctis sank into his own mind for a while. He was aware enough to take part in some of the conversations, but he was somewhere else overall. He did manage to ground himself for long enough to show up Gladio in a game of skeeball. And after all of that, they headed to a restaurant to eat, which allowed Prompto to animatedly share a childhood memory with them. Noctis took that time to pick up where he left off in his thoughts.

He backtracked over all the stories he heard as a child about soulmates. From what he remembered, soulmates would either slowly adopt each other’s mannerisms or would be emotionally connected from the very beginning. That latter part didn’t sound _too_ appealing to him, if only because he didn’t like being emotionally bound to someone he never met. Yes, slowly taking on someone else’s key mannerisms wasn’t exactly ideal either, but it felt better paced. It was like a gift that was slowly being unwrapped. No, it was… like he was actually getting to know his mysterious someone. It felt nicer — like something he could handle.

He brought up a hand and pushed his sunglasses higher on his face. He used his middle finger to do it, and there was a sort of indescribably slow grace when he moved. It was so unlike his usual demeanor. He usually pushed his sunglasses up with a quick, decisive prod of his index finger. Noctis stared at his hand for a moment, slowly turning it as if looking at it for the first time. He glanced up. The others were still focused on each other, thankfully. Gladio had a broad smile on his face; his chin was propped up with the back of his hand.

“And then, _bwah!_ The gnome goes all over the place. Pieces of porcelain scatter all over the front porch!” Prompto looked left and right, perfectly pantomiming being at a loss for words. “And all I can think is ‘We need to go in the house!’ So, I _grab_ him by the back of his collar and—”

Noctis smirked. He rubbed his hands together and gave a slow shake of his head. Too bad he had been zoning out for most of the story. He’d love to know what that was all about. Soon, the waitress came by with their food and drinks. Though he was adamant on telling his story, Prompto paused to thank the waitress. Gladio did the same, and Noctis followed suit. Noctis sat up and drew his food closer to him. He expected Prompto to launch back into his story, but instead, he heard:

“Everything okay, Noct?”

Noctis looked up from behind his shades. Gladio and Prompto were both looking in his direction. Uh-oh. He grimaced and gave a short suck of his teeth.

“I…” he started.

What should he say? Should he just come out with the truth? Well, he supposed there wasn’t any real reason to lie about it. These were his friends — his best friends — but for some reason, saying that he’s imitating his whoever-soulmate just made it more real. Maybe that’s what was so weird about it. This made it _real_ , definitive. There was no turning back from this. He rolled his shoulders and brought a hand up to his sunglasses. They had been hanging out together for several hours now. Maybe some of the physical traits wore off by now.

Without saying anything else, he removed his sunglasses and set them on the table in front of him. Both Gladio and Prompto looked different shades of shock.

“Whoa…” Prompto said in awe. He lowered his elbows down onto the table and leaned into Noctis. “They’re so pretty.”

“Green’s a good colour on you,” Gladio added, tilting back in his chair and looking around Prompto.

Okay… Maybe they weren’t gone then. Noctis tried not to look too embarrassed. He waved a hand, trying to dismiss both of their compliments.

“Cut it out,” he said.

“So, they must be pretty close, huh?” Prompto asked, looking back towards Gladio to confirm.

“I’m guessing so,” Noctis mumbled. “I’ve been picking up their little habits all day.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

Noctis looked down to the plate in front of him before sitting up straight and getting into everything that had happened to him today. He talked about how many times he poked himself in the face throughout the course of his morning, about the small mannerisms he’s taken more notice of, and about the other noticeable changes in his day. He skipped mentioning the dream, however. He felt that that was something he should think about on his own time.

He was in the middle of describing a certain pose he had adopted when thinking when Gladio perked up suddenly. He looked over to Prompto with slightly raised brows and said,

“Ah. That makes sense now.”

Noctis lifted his chin slightly and tilted his head to the right. “What does?”

Prompto leaned back and nodded slowly. “You’ve been doing that for a long time. A lot of those things, actually,” he clarified. “I thought you were just… being… you, y’know.”

“Honestly, you looked so straightlaced, I was starting to think you had been replaced with someone else.” Gladio then gave a little shrug of his shoulders. “I guess, in a way, you have.”

“Whatever.” Noctis rolled his eyes.

He went back to his food, determined to finish that at least. And the others showed mercy by doing the same. Well, they were merciful for the most part. They didn’t bombard him with questions, but their teasing little comments about his changed mannerisms made him flip them both off at once.

When they were done with their meals, Noctis piped up with a question: “Have you heard anything about soulmates linking through dreams?”

“Through dreams?” Gladio and Prompto parroted simultaneously. Gladio gave a little smile at the timing while Prompto wracked his brain for answers.

“It’s not common from what I’ve heard because of how the mind is put together and how abstractly it hangs onto memories and such. From what I know, some have said that they remember their soulmate. Others said that they met their soulmate in a dream.”

“So it’s… rare?” Noctis asked.

“Not rare.” Prompto shook his head. “Just uncommon. It’s in that smaller percent, I guess?”

“Look at Mr. Information over here,” Gladio teased. He tapped his fingers on the table. “I heard something similar, actually. Mostly just that people met each other in their dreams.”

Noctis nodded his head. He thought to give a flimsy excuse as to why he asked, but it didn’t matter. They probably understood why. Thankfully, no one touched the subject.

Prompto crossed his arms over the table. “So… Are you gonna try to find them?”

Noctis thought about it for a while. If he’s been imitating them for a while, it seemed like the best thing to do. He could ask the others how long ‘a while’ was, but he felt that the answer might have left him reeling.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I… kind of want to, but it’s…” He trailed off. “It’s a lot. I think if I wake up tomorrow with pretty green eyes, I’ll start looking.”

The others nodded. To them, it made sense. To _him_ , it made sense.

But the universe and whatever divine forces that put soulmates together didn’t see it the same way.

_The building was collapsing. There was screaming; there was some. The entire kingdom was under siege, and his chamberlain was taking him to safety. Debris fell from the ceiling. Thick clouds and clumps of dirt went scattering to the floor._

_Somehow, this underground pathway was the most quiet. Someone was waiting for them at the very end of the hall. Her hair was so blond it was almost white in the light streaming in from the small rectangular windows. She was calling for them to hurry. Hurry!_

_His chamberlain was running behind him. Saying that there was someone coming. Someone, a traitor, was coming to end their lives. He could take no more. He turned around suddenly and grabbed his chamberlain when he came close._

_“Your Majesty,” the man said in a shuddering breath._

_Majesty… a title once given with reverence and respect felt like a heavy burden. He switched places his chamberlain, his advisor, his childhood friend away, pushed him away, and created a wall of ice between them. There was shouting — close but muted._

_Don’t do this! There’s still a chance!_

_There was still a chance. To save someone, anyone. To end this problem where it stood. He ran his fingers over the ice slowly, letting the cold realisation sink in with the temperature. He drew in a centering breath. It wasn’t enough to calm his nerves, but it was enough for him to do what he needed to._

Noctis woke up with a pounding heart. He was warmer than usual. His ears were burning hot; his fingers were shaking. The dream… It wasn’t just a series of distorted images, of blurry memories he was dropped in the center of. It was the whole thing, and it was ruinous. He sat up and placed a hand over his chest. His heart was going a mile a minute.

_Calm down…_ he told himself. _Calm down. It’s…_

Over.

That single word sent a wave of dread through Noctis. _Over._ Yeah... it was. It was all over, all said and done. Suddenly, the weight was on him again. He needed to get out and go for a walk.

Being outside helped him clear his head. It helped ground him to the world around him. This was his time; this was his home. It was safe, and the people in it were okay. But still, there was that heavy feeling of loss. Augh, his heart had calmed down, but now his stomach felt like stone. He huffed out a hard breath and thought to text someone who might be able to talk to him. His phone was burning a hole in his pocket. Maybe if he ignored it — maybe if he was more focused on the walk he was on, he could forget about everything for a little while.

Gods, he would give anything to forget that heartache.

He brought another hand to his heart. It was calmer now. Better. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. The shaking was over; his nerves felt better. He was okay now. He was okay now.

It was over.

This time, it didn’t feel like a horrible weight when he thought that. It just was. It was a statement, a fact. He felt a sense of tired relief. It was time to head back home. He dropped his hand and spun around, but as he did, he saw someone walking on the same path as him. They stopped midstep, frozen like a startled animal. Noctis felt his chest clench.

The man standing across from him looked as shocked as he did, but he wasn’t a man in simple but sharp looking clothes. He was that man from the dreams; he was the chamberlain behind the ice, yelling for his King to reconsider. Noctis could hear his voice. He could taste the dread in the back of his throat, but for some reason, he could only ask:

“Is that… you?” He felt older when he asked. And what a dumb question to ask a stranger. What an actually horrible opener it was for any sort of conversation.

But the man understood. His weight sagged, and some indescribable expression took his features for a moment. He took several quick strides over to where Noctis stood, and Noctis could only stand his ground as he waited with bated breath for this man to say something. He knew this man. What did this man see when he looked at Noctis? What was going through his mind? Was his heart pounding like crazy?

“It’s been…” the man started. He shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure how long.”

“Me neither…” Noctis looked down for a moment before looking up again.

The man stared at him with blue-grey eyes. Noctis’ eyes. This was _very_ weird but awe-inspiring at the same time.

“I guess we’re soulmates, then.”

The man gave a tiny laugh. “Yes, I suppose we are. Perhaps even more than that at one point.”

“At one point, yeah,” Noctis nodded lamely.

This felt awkward, but at the same time, it didn’t. He was right where he needed to be with who he needed to be with. But to see that this person was real right in front of him was… bizarre. He just needed to take it one step at a time.

“... I’m Noctis,” he introduced.

“Ignis,” said the man — said… _Ignis._

“Glad to meet you.” Noctis gave a nervous little laugh. “I guess you’re out for the same reason I am?”

Ignis hummed. “Nightmare… Or perhaps just an awful memory.”

“Something like that.” Noctis slid his hands into his back pockets and rocked onto the heels of his feet for a second. “If… I was planning on heading back home, but... Do you want to stay and talk… for a little while?”

Ignis looked at him. His eyes turned (back?) green just for a moment before fading back into Noctis’ usual eye colour. “Would you rather walk or sit?”

“Sit, if that’s okay with you.”

“Not a problem at all.” They began towards a nearby bench together. “I think it’ll take a moment for me to process everything.”

“You?” Noctis laughed. “I’m still trying to get over the fact that soulmates are real. Like, I know they’re real, but it didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would ever happen to _me_.”

Ignis laughed. It was gentle but brief. “Honestly, I think I felt the same way for a time.”

“Good to know I’m not the only one.”

Talking with him like this felt easy. The banter came naturally and took a lot of pressure off the situation. They sat down on the bench together with a bit of space between each other. Familiar without crossing a line. Noctis took notice, and he appreciated it. He sighed through his nose.

“For what it’s worth… if… anything, it’s good to see you. Again, I guess.” He lifted his gaze and met Ignis’ eyes. “I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

Again, he felt an age weighing down the statement, but again, Ignis understood. He didn’t seem weirded out or confused. He merely nodded sagely.

“It’s good to see you too.”

 _Your Majesty._ Noctis could hear it tagged on at the end in his mind. But before he could think on it too much, he looked straight ahead and said the first thing on his mind.

“My friends think your eyes are pretty.”

“Mine think yours make me look rather menacing.”

Noctis laughed and then tilted his head towards the male beside him. “Maybe a little, but I think you look stunning in that model kind of way, y’know.”

Ignis gave a little smile. “You do too.”

It was a nonchalant compliment, but it was enough to make Noctis smile. He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully before striking up a conversation, trying to get to know his soulmate, the man that he — at one point — gave everything to protect.


End file.
